What Is Bullying?

Bullying
is when one or more people repeatedly attempt to hurt, intimidate, or torment
another person. Bullying can be either physical or emotional. Bullying is most common
among youths and young adults, but it can also occur in adulthood. Bullying is
a common concern for school-aged youths. It has potentially serious
consequences.

Physical
bullying includes any attempts to cause harm to another person. Emotional
attacks include name-calling, teasing, threatening, or publicly humiliating the
victim. Both physical and emotional attacks can be either direct or indirect.

Direct bullying
involves an actual confrontation between the bully and victim. Indirect attacks
include the spread of rumors or attempts to humiliate the victim when he or she
is not present. Cyberbullying, or bullying that occurs online or in social
media forums, is a form of indirect bullying.

Who Is Bullied?

People
who are bullied are often physically smaller or perceived as weaker than the
bully. This weakness can be real or imagined. Other people who are bullied are
targeted for their differences. They may have a disability, or have developed differently
from their immediate peers. They may have a different sexual orientation, be of
a different socio-economic class, or possess traits that others are jealous of.

Bullying
can occur between peers or between adults and youths. It can occur between
people of the same gender or people of different genders.

What Causes Bullying?

A
victim of bullying often does nothing to cause the attacks. Bullying occurs
when one person, the attacker, has some sort of power over his or her victim,
and acts on it.

Bullies
may be popular and powerful in their social circles. Sometimes they are isolated
and not accepted by their peers. Children with mental health conditions, little
parental involvement, violent tendencies, aggressive personalities, or issues
at home are more likely to bully others.

A
person may bully another in order to:

increase his or her self-esteem

feel powerful

get his or her way

get respect from others

become more popular

make others laugh

fit in

What Are the Effects of Bullying?

Victims
of bullying may experience significant physical and emotional stress. Some
effects of bullying include:

hurt feelings

sadness

loneliness

isolation

depression or anxiety

fear

low self-esteem

poor performance in school

physical pain (headaches or stomachaches)

insomnia

Ongoing
abuse can lead to long-term stress or fear. Some victims of bullying end up
taking matters into their own hands with violence. Bullying can also lead to
suicide. The effects of bullying can last well into adulthood.

For adults,
bullying in the workplace can lead to frequent missed days and poor work
performance. Employers can attempt to stop bullying with new policies, training,
education, or by determining the root cause of the bullying.

How to Stop Bullying?

Victims
of bullying often don’t report the abuse to teachers or parents out of fear of embarrassment
or reprisals. They often feel isolated. They may feel that they will not be
believed. They might also be afraid of backlash from the bullies or rejection
from classmates.

Educators
can prevent bullying by talking openly about issues related to respect, by
looking for signs of bullying, and by making sure students are aware they can
come to educators with problems. Educators should intervene in and mediate
bullying situations.

Parents
should discuss concerns with children—behavioral changes can be a sign of
bullying (either being bullied or being a bully) and, if applicable, with
school authorities.

To stop
bullying of yourself or another person, it usually helps to inform a trusted
adult. Victims can learn to stand up for themselves. This may cause them to be
targeted at first, because the bully will not expect this change in behavior.
Victims should remain confident, tell their bullies to stop, and remove
themselves from the situation. They should not use violence or reciprocate
bullying.

People
who see others being bullied can help them by standing up for them and telling
a trusted adult about the incident.